Prefabricated hull system makes The Molenwiek grow in height weekly

The major advantages of precast construction are being put to good use during the De Molenwiek project in Almere Buiten. Bestcon, a total supplier in the field of precast concrete, is supplying the Bestcon 60 cascade system there on behalf of construction contractor Trebbe Groep. Bart Houweling, senior project manager at Bestcon, talks about the solution offered by the Bestcon company. 

Precast concrete not only allows you to build faster and higher, it also requires fewer hands on the construction site to assemble it. They know all about it at Bestcon. The company offers various precast concrete construction systems that can be used for various applications. The Bestcon 60 cascade system developed especially for high-rise buildings is one of them. "One of the advantages of this building system is that the floor rests on the walls," said Houweling. "This eliminates the need for cams on the walls and greatly increases design freedom. Furthermore, the floors in the Bestcon 60 system are installed without propping. If required, they can even be delivered wind and watertight by us including frames and glazing."

345 cargoes
These are precisely the USPs that Trebbe is taking full advantage of during the construction of the eleven-story, 7,000 m² apartment complex. In total, Bestcon delivered just under 800 precast concrete elements with a total volume of 3,200 m³. A substantial chunk that will be transported to Almere Buiten via 345 trips. Thereafter, the shell components complete with frames and glazing are lifted to height and assembled floor by floor as a dry stacking system. And that, mainly because of the lack of curing times, goes super fast. "We raise the shell one storey per week," says Houweling. "A challenging job: both in terms of logistics, construction and crane work. After all, the floors equipped with trench openings and cantilevered balconies each weigh 16 tons and are more than 10 meters long. Within residential construction, those are pretty spectacular numbers."

The more than 10-meter-long pre-stressed BC 60 residential floors with pipe slots for installations.

Continued
While De Molenwiek is Bestcon and Trebbe's first jointly executed high-rise prefab project, it is certainly not the last. "After this, we will be building together on the next apartment complex, also in Almere," Houweling looks ahead. "Following this, a project is planned in which we will use precast masonry. Then you are completely quick and finished with the facade work in one go."